Argentinian tennis great Juan Martin del Potro has been farewelled from the sport with an emotional exhibition match against longtime rival Novak Djokovic.

The two veterans shared a teary embrace at the net after the match, which del Potro won, 6-4, 7-5.

In one final act of “ultimate respect”, as described by social media account The Tennis Letter, Djokovic surrendered himself to losing the final point, giving del Potro free rein to hit the match-deciding forehand winner.

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“Juan Martin del Potro and Novak Djokovic are both in tears as Juan wins his farewell match,” The Tennis Letter said.

“They share a beautiful hug at the net.

“Delpo crying as Novak embraces him.

“What a moment between legends.”

After the embrace, Djokovic and del Potro linked arms in the middle of the court to wave goodbye to the crowd in what was an emotional scene.

“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love Juan Martin… His greatest victory in life is that he’s a wonderful person,” Djokovic said after the match.

Del Potro will go down as a champion of the game that broke through for a major title during a period of complete domination from tennis’ Big Three.

Between the 2005 Australian Open and the 2012 US Open, a span of 30 major tournaments, del Potro was the only player in the world outside of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to win a men’s major.

He had to go through Nadal and Federer in the semi-final and final to win the 2009 US Open, the only major victory of his career.

Del Potro is one of a number of players who will be remembered as a victim of the era in which they played, given the monopolisation the Big Three — or Big Four if you include Andy Murray — had over the game for so long, making it almost impossible to break through in major tournaments.

Making things even more difficult for the big 36-year-old were the string of injuries that marred parts of his career.

Ultimately, it was injuries and health struggles that forced him to retire from the sport.

Just last week, del Potro made an emotional post on social media to share details of the mental and physical toll he has gone through over the years, and still continues to battle through.

“My daily life isn’t what I would like it to be,” Del Potro said.

“I can’t play football, I can’t play padel (tennis). It’s terrible.

“They took (from) me the chance to do what I loved the most, which was to play tennis.”

In 2018 Del Potro fractured his right kneecap at the Shanghai Masters. Then, in 2019, he again damaged his knee when he slipped during the Queen’s Club Championships.

“When I had my first surgery in June (2019), the doctor told me I would play in three months. I even signed in for three indoor tournaments at the end of the year,” he said.

“After that first surgery until today, I’ve never been able to go up a set of stairs without pain. It hurts many times when I try to sleep, when I turn on my side, or when I wake up because I get these sharp pains.

“When I had my first surgery in June (2019), the doctor told me I would play in three months. I even signed in for three indoor tournaments at the end of the year,” he said.

“After that first surgery until today, I’ve never been able to go up a set of stairs without pain. It hurts many times when I try to sleep, when I turn on my side, or when I wake up because I get these sharp pains.

“It’s like a never-ending nightmare that I’m trying daily to find solutions and alternatives for, but I can’t find them.

“It all started with that first surgery … every time I think about it, it stirs up so much bad emotion. It makes me really angry, very frustrated, but I can’t change it.’

Del Potro, 36, last played a professional match in Argentina at the start of 2022.

“It’s very tough. There are moments where I have no more strength. I’m not indestructible. I have good things, bad things but most of the times I have to fake it and put a good face, but many times I feel terrible,” he said.

“Every day when I wake up I have to take six or seven pills. Gastric protectors, anti-inflammatories, one for anxiety.

“Then the pills made me gain weight, so they told me to stop eating some things.

“One thing are the stones that can appear in your way — like the injuries that can affect all athletes — but the other thing is the emotional pain. I felt so powerful when facing those obstacles, but after all (of it) I understood that I’m not that strong.

“That knee beat me.

“I had eight surgeries, with doctors all around the world. Every time they gave me the anaesthetic, I hoped that the problem would be solved and after 2-3 months, I was always calling the doctors to tell them that the surgery didn’t work.

“There are doctors that tell me that I can put a prosthesis so I can regain some life quality. But others tell my that I’m too young for a prosthesis. They tell me to wait until I’m 50.

“But since I was 31, I can’t run, I can’t climb stairs, can’t kick a ball, never played tennis again. I need to wait 15 years more of this? It’s terrible. I hope this will finish someday, because I want to live my life without pain.”